Developing World

The World - In Development

The World Food Program reported in 2003 that the number of people suffering from malnutrition increased by 25 million from 815 to 840 million. This huge increase and the rapidly urbanizing global population in developing countries highlight the need to drastically improve sustainable agriculture productivity if we want to fill the need of world’s poorest. GM technology can significantly alter the lives of the poorest, because it will help farmers to limiting the time spend in the field and helping alleviate poverty

The most compelling case for biotechnology, and more specifically GM crops, is their capability to contribute to:

increasing crop productivity

conserving biodiversity, as a land-saving technology capable of higher productivity;

increasing stability of production and, to

the improvement of economic and social benefits

The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations “believes that biotechnology, including genetic engineering, can benefit the poor by raising farmers’ production and incomes” (FAO, Press Statement, 2004) where growth continued to be strong Crop biotechnology can benefit the 5 million resource-poor farmers and consumers of the emerging economies since it is able to offer new solutions to such chronic problems as poverty and development. Biotechnology continues to be the most rapidly adopted technology in agricultural history, particularly in developing countries with more than one third high (35%) of the global transgenic crop area of 81 million hectares in 2004. In 2004, the number of developing countries growing biotech crops (11) was almost double the number of industrial countries (6) adopting biotech crops (Source: ISAAA, 2004).